Sunderland and Hull remain in drop zone after defeats to Ipswich and Preston

Birmingham went four points clear of the relegation zone with a 3-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday while QPR beat Barnsley 1-0

By Anthony Chapman

3rd February 2018,9:47 pm

Updated: 4th February 2018,1:11 am

WOLVES swept aside Sheffield United 3-0 to restore their 11-point lead at the top of the Championship on Saturday after Derby and Aston Villa boosted their chances of grabbing the other automatic promotion spot, but Sunderland and Hull remained rooted in the relegation zone after more defeats.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men set up their 21st victory of the season after taking the lead in the fifth minute through Ruben Neves, with Diogo Jota’s 13th goal of the season on the half hour doubling their advantage.

Villa took the lead after 33 minutes when a fine team goal was finished by Scott Hogan and Albert Adomah made it 2-0 midway through the second half.

Ahmed Elmohamady’s own goal gifted the Brewers a route back into the game, but Jack Grealish restored Villa’s two-goal cushion late on and Villa held on despite a late second for Liam Boyce.

Neil Warnock returned to haunt his former club as Cardiff kept up their promotion hopes with a 4-1 win at 10-man Leeds with goals from Callum Paterson, Junior Hoilett, Sean Morrison and Anthony Pilkington.

Birmingham moved four points clear of the drop with a 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday

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Fulham moved up to fifth after a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest. Sunderland remain second bottom and are two points adrift of safety after a 2-0 home defeat against Ipswich.

Hull also failed to climb out of the drop zone after letting a lead slip in their 2-1 loss at Preston.

Birmingham edged four points clear of the relegation zone with a 3-1 victory at nine-man Sheffield Wednesday while Josh Scowen scored his first goal for QPR to help secure a 1-0 victory against his former club Barnsley.